Core covering apparatus



May 12, 1931. J, LALDEN 1,804,911

CORE COVERING API ARAT US Filed April 24, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l mye/fio/ duh/7 1.4/0? M 7 J. L. ALDEN CORE COVERING APPARATUS Filed April 24, 1929 May 12, 1931.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented vMay 1 2, 1931' 1 J'OHN LESLIE ALDEN, OF LA. GRANGE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORQIBY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO WESTERN ELECTRIC QOMPANY, INCO RATION on NEW YORK RPORATED, on NEW YORK, 1w. Y., A conno- CORE COVERING APPARATU Application filed April 24,

This invention relates to core covering apparatus, and more particularly to an apparams for covering electrical conductors in strand form with wrappings of insulating material.

An object of the invention is the provision of a simple inexpensive and efficient device for applying a covering to a core in an expeditious and economical manner.

In accordance with one embodiment thereof, the inventioncontemplates the provision.

of a common framework upon which av plurality of unitary vertical covering assemblies may be mounted. Each of the assemblies in-' cludes a casting upon which are mounted op;-

positely rotating serving heads for wrappingcoverings of insulating material such as silk or cotton upon a wire being drawn through the axis of rotation ofthe heads. The insulating material is supplied from cops thereof which are mounted one above the other and are rotated in opposite directions to wrap the coverings upon the strand. Individual electrical motors are, provided for driving the heads of each unit through vertical shafts and gears, and each of the units has a capstan mounted intermediate the top and bottom thereof for drawing the strand through the machine and comprising a flat plate with which maybe selectively associated interchangeable disks of various diameters, each of the disks having a frusto-conical face which cooperates with the flat late to grip the wire, the interchangeable isks providing means for drawing the strand through the machine at desired speeds. Each of the rotatable serving heads is provided with a cop support having knurled surfaces for retaining the paper core of-the cop thereon, and an adjustablefriction member is provided for varying the tension between the winding head and the cop support. A nosepiece having a tapered end is provided for association with a tapered bore in the spin dle to permit an easy insertion therein and removal therefrom. transmits power to the head by means of a belt, and is hingedly mounted so that the tension in the belt may be readily regulated. The insulatedwire is directed by an md1- The driving motor 19 1929. Serial No. 357,836.

vidual distributor to an individual take-up thereof when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of an apparatus embodying the features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken onthe line 2-2 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the serving heads also taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows: Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3 in. the directionof the arrows:

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2' in the directionof the arrows, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion" of the structure shown in Fig." 3.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate the same parts thl 'oughout the several views, the numeral 9' designatesastandard forming part of a common framework designated generally by the numeral 10 and which is composed" of four standards 9, one mounted at each corner of the common framework 10. Horiare mounted transversely of the front of the framework 10 and secured to the standards 9 and cross pieces 15 and 16 which are also secured to the standards, 9 extend transversely of the ends of the framework. The cross pieces 15 extend beyond the standards 9 a distance suflicient to support shelves 17 upon which a plurality of supply spools 18 having a supply of bare wlre wound thereon upon which a covering of textile is lto be wound. The horizontally disposed members 11 and 12 support a plurallty of serving units designated generally by the numeral To simplify the drawings, only a small fragment of the framework has been shown, the rest being broken away, but it w ll understood that a plurality of servlng units 19 are mounted transversely of the front of the framework and of the rear of the framework, and it will also be understood that the cross pieces and 16 are also secured to other standards 9 not shown and that the rear side of the machine is exactly the same as the front.

The serving units or covering assemblies which are identical in every feature and 7 only 'one of which will be descrlbed herein,

are composed'of a supporting casting 23 having housing portions 24 and 25 formed in tegral therewith which are joined by a web portion 26. Vertically disposed in the castmg 23 and extending from the top to the bottom thereof is a rotatable shaft 27 journalled in suitably enclosed ball bearings 28 and 29 mounted in the top and bottom respectively of the casting. The lower end of the shaft 27 has a belt pulley 3O pinned thereto at 31 which may be driven by a belt 32 actuated by a driving pulley 33 of a suitable electrical motor 3 The motor 34 is supported by a horizontally disposed member 35 which extends transversely of, the front of the framework and which is secured atboth ends to the standards 9. The motor 34 is not directly'attached to the horizontally disposed member 35, but rather is mounted on a leaf 36 of a hinge 37, the other leaf 38 of which is secured to the horizontally disposed member 35. The motor may thus be moved toward and away from the shaft 27 to adjust the tension on the belt 32. A member 42 rigidly secured to the leaf 38 and threaded at its rightend (Fig.

'2) extendsthrough a. slot 44 in the leaf 36 and has a wing nut 45 threaded thereon to permit adjustment of the hinge to move the motor toward or away from the shaft 27, a

spring 46 being interposed between the leaves of the hinge 37 'to normally'urge the leaf 36 away from the leaf 38. Electrical energy is supplied to the motor 34 through electrical conductors designated'generally by the nu-' meral 47 which terminate in a control switch 48 of any well known type connected to a source of electrical energy by conductors not shown.

The shaft 27 has pinned thereto spur gears 49 and 50 and a worm" 51, the function of which will become apparent as the description progresses. The gear 49 meshes with a pinion 52 keyed to a hollow spindle 53 which 1s journalled in bearing races 54 and 55 mounted in a tubular member 56 secured to the housing portion 24 of the supporting castlng 23.

Secured to the upper end of the hollow spindle 53 is a supporting head 60 which carries adjacent its outer edges a pair of textile guides 61 and 62 and which has acylindrical recess 63 formed therein. A cop supporting member 64 is rotatably positioned in the recess 63 of the supporting head 60 by means of a pin 65, apointed portion 66 of which engages an annular depression 67 formed in the lower end of the supporting member 64.

The pin may be positioned accurately with respect to the supporting member 64 by means of a threaded member 68 which is locked in position by a second threaded member 69 having a hexagonal depression 150 in the head thereof.

A cylindrical member 70 of felt or like material is mounted in an aperture 71 formed in the. supporting head 60 for connecting the supporting head to the cop supporting member. The friction member 70 is resiliently positioned in the aperture 71 by a spring 72 'positioned between the friction member 70 and a threaded member 73 having a slotted head, threaded in the aperture 71. The cop supporting member 64 has on the periphery thereof three extending knurled surfaces 74 adapted to be engaged by the paper core 75 ofa cop of textile 76 and retain it in pofiaperture therethrough is frictionally Secured to'the shank 80 of the nose piece and carries a textile directing member 83 for directing the textile from the guide 61 to the serving nose 79 of the serving head. The serving member 79 is provided with a usual V-shaped slot to permit the passage of wire from the spindle therethrough.

The upper housing portion 25 is somewhat similar to the lower housing portion 24and has mounted therein a tubular member 84,

carrying bearing braces 85 and 86 in which.

is rotatably journalled a spindle 87 which carries a supporting head, a cop supporting member and a serving member of the same type as carried by the spindle 53. However, the spindle 87 is rotated in a direction opposite to that in which the spindle 53 is rotated, 21 ball bearing mounted idler gear 88 being provided between thespur gear 50 and a pinion 89 keyed to the spindle 87. The lower serving head is provided with a guard comprised of a substantially U-shaped member 90 hinged to the housing portion 24 at 91 and the upper serving head is provided with a guard composed of two L-shaped members 92 and 93. The member 92 is hinged to the housing portion 25 and the member 93 is rigidly secured thereto.

A capstan designated generally by the numeral 102 is secured to a' shaft 103 j ournalled in the housing portion 25 and carrying a worm wheel 104 which meshes with a. worm 51 secured to the shaft 27 The capstan 102 is comprised of a flat plate 104 having an an nular shoulder 105 which is pinned to the shaft 103 at 106, and a disk 107 having a beveled edge 108 formed thereon for coopcrating with the flat plate 104 to grip a strand 96 and serve to draw it through the machine upon the rotation of the shaft 103. It will be apparent that the speed at which the strand is drawn through the machine may be controlled by securing a disk 107 of larger or smaller diameter to the flat plate 104.

A-take-up mechanism designated general- 1y by the numeral 95 is provided for receiving the strand 96 from the supply 18' of bare wire after the strand has passed through the spindles 53 and 87 and has been covered. An idler pulley 97 mounted on a bracket 98 secured to the shelf 17 directs the strand 96 from the supply 18 to the spindles 53 and 87 which are mounted in super-posed relation. A second idler pulley 99 is rotatably mounted on a bracket 100 secured to an irregular shaped member 101 mounted on the horizontally disposed member- 13. The strand 96 is drawn from the supply.18 over idler pulleys 97 and 99 by the capstan.

The right end (Fig. 2) of the shaft 103 has a pulley 109 mounted thereon, with which the belt 110 cooperates to transmit motion to a pulley 111 mounted on the end of a shaft 112 which is journalled at 113 and 114 in the upper end of the supporting member a 101. Tension on the belt 110 is maintained constant by means of an idler 115 mounted on an arm of a bell crank lever 116 which is rotatable about the shaft 112 and the other arm of which carries a weight 117.

The left end (Fig.2) of the shaft 112 supports a take-up spool 118 which is frictionally connected thereto by a pin 119 riding in an annular depression 120 on the shaft 112 and fissiliently engaging the head of the spool A distributor for distributing the strand 96 evenly upon the spool 118 is designated generally by the numeral 121. The distributor is driven from the shaft 112 by a'pulley 122- pinned to the shaft 112'which cooperates with a belt 123 for transmitting motion to a pulley 124 mounted on a shaft 125 journalled in the member 10 1-.",,-The left end of the shaft 125 has a worm 126 formed thereon, for driving .a'worm wheel 127 upon which a 'heartshaped cam 129 is mounted. A cam lever 130 having a slot 131 in a horizontally disposed portion thereof, for engaging the covered strand, has a projection 132 thereon which engages the heart-shaped cam and causes a reciprocatory motion to' be imparted to the lever 130.

It is believed that a better understanding of this invention will be had b'y referring to the-following description of the operation of this embodiment thereof. A spool 18 of bare wire having been positioned 011 the shelf 17 and the strand 96 having been threaded through the spindles 53 and 87 and over the idler pulley 99 to the capstan 102 and from the capstan to the take-up spool 95, a portion of the textile on the cops 7 5 is wound manually about the strand. The motor 34 may thenbe started by operating the switch 48 in the usual manner and assuming that proper tension has been placed on the belt 32, by means of the threaded member 42 and its associated thumb nut 45, rotative motion will be imparted to the shaft 27. In rotating, the shaft 27 will drive through the aforedescribed gearing, the spindles 53 and 87 in opposite directions.

The rotationv of the spindles will cause the textile wound on the cops 76 to be unwound therefrom and wound about the strand 96. However, since the rotation of the shaft '27 alsocauses through the Worm 51 and worm gear 104, the rotation of capstan 102, the strand 96 will be advanced longitudinally of the spindles and the textile will be served helically upon the advancing strand. The difference between-the speed of rotation of the spindle and the speed at which the textile is withdrawn from the cop 76 may be compensated for by permitting slippage therebetween, and the amount of slippage may be regulated by the adjustment of the friction drive member 70.

A strand of wire 96 having received its covering of textile in passing through the spindles 53 and 87 is directed to the take-up spool and distributed thereon by the lever 130, the operation of which is apparent.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for applying material to a core, means for applying the material to the core, a capstan for advancing the core during the application of the material there- 'to including *a fiat plate and a removable beveled disk cooperating therewith to form a material-engaging, channel, and means for from the driving head to the supply support,

and a threaded member for varying the effectiveness of the friction member, one of said pair of members being provided to prevent accidental operation of the pair of members. Y

3. In serving apparatus, a driving head, a supply support rotatably mounted in the driving head, a retaining member threaded in the driving head and engaging the supply l,

support to prevent longitudinal movement thereof, a threaded protective member overlying the retaining member to prevent accidental operation thereof, frictional driving means connecting the supply support and the driving member, and an adjusting member threaded in the driving head and controlling the frictional driving means.

4. In an apparatus for covering'a core, an integral framework having a plurality of housings in spaced relation, a common shaft extending through the housings, means for rotating the shaft, separate hollow shafts supported by and extending through each of the housings and in alinement with each other, material supplying and serving means supported by each of the separate shafts, means for drawing a core through the hollow shafts in series, and means in each housing interconnecting the common and separate shafts causing material to be served upon the core in dififerent directions by the adjacent separate shafts.

5. In a serving apparatus, a driving head, a supply support rotatably mounted in the driving head, releasable means for preventing longitudinal movement of the supply support relative to the driving head and having a hexagonal depression therein for receiving a hexagonally shaped tool, and an adjustable frictional driving connection between the supply support and the driving head and having a slotted portion for receiving a knife edged'tool, whereby the releasable means and the frictional driving connection are adjustable only by different types of tool.

11 witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 20th dayof April, A. D. 1929.

JOHN'LESLIE ALDEN. 

